


Our Relationship, It's Changing

by PotterWeasley6274



Category: Jurassic Park (Movies), Jurassic World (2015)
Genre: AU, Best Friends, F/M, Maybe a bit of fluff, Previous Meetings, Probably a bit of angst, clawen au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-23
Updated: 2015-11-27
Packaged: 2018-04-27 18:19:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5059066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PotterWeasley6274/pseuds/PotterWeasley6274
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU where Claire and Owen have been best friends since they were kids. It's been years since they've seen each other and Owen gets the job at the park. Will they finally admit they're in love with each other?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So I know I've got like ten other stories I should be writing over on ff.net, but this idea has been bugging me for months and it seriously won’t leave me alone. Also with the release of Jurassic World on DVD, my Clawen feels just won’t leave me alone. So here we go. Basically this chapter is just flashbacks, they'll be short and probably not have a lot of content.

_3 Years_ _Old_

'Come on, Claire,' Owen called dragging his best friend along.

'I'm coming,' she laughed, 'slow down.' 

Neither of them would remember where they were going if you asked them 30 years later but they would both remember the pure happiness they both felt at that moment.

_5 Years Old_

'I don't wanna go to school tomorrow, Owen,' Claire whispered.

'Why not? You've been looking forward to it all summer!' Owen said.

'What if they separate us?' Claire asked.

'That'll never happen. If they try, we'll put up a fight, they'll have to put us together.'

At 5 they were already inseparable, it would remain that way for years to come. 

_8 Years Old_

They sat together, in complete silence. Owen's dad had just been buried. Owen clung tight to his old lion stuffed toy. He had had it for as long as he could remember. Claire clung tightly to Owen's hand, and he was just as glad for her being there with him as he was for his lion, maybe a little more - but don't tell that to Leo.

_12 Years Old_

Owen was the most liked boy in the school. He was the star of the football team, scoring more goals than any of the others. Every girl in school wanted to sit with him at lunch or hold his hand on trips. He always chose Claire but that didn't mean she wasn't a little annoyed. And when did he start to get so cute? And why wouldn't the butterflies in her stomach settle down already?

_15 Years Old_

Claire had realised that her best friend was no longer just cute. He was hot. Unfortunately, every other girl in year 10 had also realised this. Owen was completely oblivious, of course. He was also still kinda immature and wasn't really into girls. He liked books, video games, and Doctor Who more than girls, except Claire, she was more important than anything, even Doctor Who. But don't let her know, she would tease him for a year.

_16 Years Old_

'Kate Sterling, really? Surely there's someone else you would rather go out with?' Claire asked Owen. She didn't mind Kate, she was a nice girl, but she did have a bit of a crush on Owen and she was fairly certain her reaction would have been the same no matter who he asked.

'Kate's a nice girl,' was all he said. Truth be told, there was someone else, but Claire only saw him as a best friend, maybe a brother, definitely not boyfriend material.

_18 Years Old_

'I got accepted to Yale!' Claire said as soon as he picked up.

'Hello to you, too.'

'Hi. I repeat, I got accepted to Yale!'

'Congrats! I guess now would be a good time to tell you...' he trailed off, leaving her to wonder momentarily.

'Tell me what?!' she practically screamed.

'I, uh, I got accepted as well.'

'Seriously?! That's brilliant.'

'Yeah, I guess.'

'So we're going to Yale?'

'We're going to Yale.'

_22 Years Old_

They had graduated University and now they had to go their separate ways. She was heading to Jurassic World and he was going into the Navy. For the first time in either of their memories they weren't going to be together.

'So this is it?' Claire said, tears already spilling.

'I guess, yeah,' Owen couldn't keep his tears from falling.

'I - I...' she wasn't sure what she wanted to say. No, she was, she wanted to say 'I love you' but she couldn't. 'I'm gonna miss you so much.' it was all she could get out.

'I'm gonna miss you too.' He couldn't tell her he loves her and then leave.

Their tears got the best of them then. They gave up with talking and he pulled her into a hug. They spent the night cuddled together watching Disney movies.

_27 Years Old_

Her request for holiday time had been denied again. She was disappointed but she had expected it. She tells him so over video chat two days later. His heart sinks to the floor as he realises that another year is going to go by without seeing her. It's been five years and video chat just isn't cutting it. But he's still got three years of service left and he just can't afford to go to Jurassic World when he only has two weeks leave. Instead he goes to Wisconsin and him and Zach and Gray video chat with Claire every night and she smiles but it doesn't always reach her eyes. She promises the boys she'll see them soon. 

_30 Years Old_

He accepts the position as raptor trainer. She doesn't know yet. They'll be seeing each other in two weeks and he doesn't think he's been this happy since he was 18.

 

 


	2. Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two years before the events of Jurassic World, Owen starts work at the park.

Claire had had a really, really bad day. Her request for holiday time over Christmas had been denied – for the seventh year in a row, she still didn’t know anything about the raptor training program and Mr. Masrani had approved the new asset, it had been born and had eaten its sibling. What kind of _monster_ eats its sister? Claire loved her job, she really did, but she missed her family and she really missed her best friend. Claire had known Owen for as long as she could remember. They had been in the same classes in school and had been completely inseparable for most of their lives. They had gone to the same university and had only gone their different ways when Claire had gone to work at Jurassic World and Owen had joined the Navy.  Now, eight years later, he was finally going home, and Claire had hoped she would be able to go home this Christmas so that she could see him. Sure they video chatted every week, but it wasn’t the same. Speaking of video chats, she was supposed to call Owen in 10 minutes. She was buried in paperwork, her personal laptop was at home, and she couldn’t make the call from her work computer. This call was the only thing that had gotten her through this week from hell. She knew she wasn’t going to get all her paperwork done before she went home, she figured she might as well go home now and she would just have to catch up on her work tomorrow. She grabbed her keys, picked up her phone and left the office, throwing a ‘bye’ over her shoulder to Zara.

 

Owen was beyond excited. He had jumped on the offer to train raptors at Jurassic World. He knew it was dangerous, and, yeah he loved danger, but that wasn’t why he had accepted. Claire Dearing was the reason he had accepted. She had been his best friend practically his entire life. They hadn’t seen each other for eight years. His leave from the Navy had never lined up with the few holidays she managed to get. He knew he wouldn’t have a whole lot of time, he was going to be looking after 4 raptors, but being on the same landmass as Claire would mean that they would actually see each other. He wasn’t planning on telling her, he wanted it to be a surprise. Their weekly video chat was in just under ten minutes, and Owen was scared he would slip up and tell her about it. But that didn’t mean he was willing to cancel. Their video chats were the highlight of his week.

 

Claire had made it home in record timing. Ten minutes after she left the office, she was on her bed, in pajamas with her laptop open in front of her already dialing Owen. As soon as his face appeared on her screen, her whole body relaxed, smile spreading across her face.

‘Hey’

‘Hi there,’ he said, chuckle in his voice, smile on his face, ‘you look happy to see me.’

‘You have no idea! The thought of talking to you is literally the only thing that has gotten me through this week.’

‘Must’ve been a pretty bad week if seeing my face is the highlight,’ he joked.

‘Don’t say that! You know I love talking to you!’ Claire exclaimed, ‘but, yeah, it was pretty much the week from hell.’ Owen almost spilt his secret then, he figured it might cheer her up. He just about managed to stop his thoughts from spilling out of his mouth.

‘Aww, you're making me blush. Just so you know, I love talking to you, too.’ He said, half teasing, ‘why don’t you tell me about this week from hell and I’ll tell you about mine.’

‘Sounds like a deal. So first of, yet again, I will be spending Christmas in the park…’ Claire was glad to finally get everything of her chest and Owen was always glad to listen. It was how they worked, one ranted and the other listened. They could talk for hours about anything and everything and it was why their friendship had held for so long. And tonight was no different, they talked for hours, topics ranging from Christmas presents to how bad their jobs were to reminiscing about stuff from their childhoods. By the time they got of the phone it was past midnight, and, for the first time in a week Claire slept with a smile on her face, Owen’s face the only thing she could think of as she drifted of.

 


	3. Long Time No See

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Owen comes to the park, Claire thinks she's changed and Zara is confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I like to think that Claire would still be bad ass Claire Dearing and she would be pretty cold to everyone outside her personal world even though she is a bit of a softie in my head. Especially when it comes to Owen. Also, Masrani knows about Claire and Owen's friendship.

Claire was sat in her office looking at some material requests for the Gentle Giants when Zara came in. Claire knew for a fact that she didn't have any meetings today and it was unusual for Zara to come into her office unless she needed to be reminded of a meeting. Or there was a problem with one of the dinosaurs. Claire really hoped it wasn't a problem with a dinosaur. Despite what people thought, Claire really liked dinosaurs. Her interest in them had developed mostly due to her nephew's interest in them and the way his face lit up when he spoke about them.

'Is there a problem, Zara?' Claire queried.

'No, not a problem. Um, Mr. Masrani has given you the week off.' Zara told her boss, slightly nervous.

'He's What?!'

'Um, he said that you need to take some time of. You'll have to stay on the island in case you're needed but you have the week of, starting this afternoon.' Claire took the information in and thought about it and realised it would be nice to have the week off. She might even get to video chat with her sister and nephews, something she hadn't done in a month.

'Okay, thanks for telling me. Is that everything?'

'Actually, I have to go and bring the raptor trainer in. He just got in on the ferry so I'm going to be gone for about half an hour. I was told to bring him straight here.' Claire let out a sigh. The raptor project had been a source of great frustration for her. She hadn't been told anything about the trainer and that pissed her off. She was Senior Assets Manager, it was her job to make sure the guy was good for the job. And she had to make sure the raptors were in good hands. Unfortunately everyone except from her had gotten a look at his file. It was like they were trying to keep her in the dark.

'Alright, I guess I'll just have to deal by myself for a bit then,' Claire smirked a bit. Zara laughed.

'Okay, hopefully you'll be in one piece when I get back.' and with that she left and Claire was on her own in the office once again. She would finally be meeting this mysterious trainer in about thirty minutes. To be honest, she was glad this whole raptor thing was about to get more manageable. Between the raptors and the new asset, she barely had time to eat. 

Thirty minutes later, Claire heard the sound of her door opening. Had she looked up, she probably would have been rendered speechless, but she did not look up, instead she waited for Zara to say something.

'Miss Dearing, I have the raptor trainer here. Owen this is Claire Dearing, she'll be the one you need to come to if you need anything for the raptors. Claire, this is Owen Grady -' Zara had probably been about to elaborate about his position or something of the like, but she was cut off by a sharp gasp of surprise from Claire as her head shot up. 

There was a man in the room with them, but Claire did not dare to look in his direction. She did not want to get her hopes up, she must've misheard the name. Instead she looked to Zara.'What did you just say?' she asked, not bothering to try and steady her voice. 

'Um, I said this is Owen Grady, he's the lead raptor trainer.' Claire could hear the nervousness in Zara's voice. Zara was worried. 'Is there something wrong?'

Instead of answering, Claire turned to face the man. She didn't look straight at his face, not daring to believe that it might be Owen,  _her Owen._ She took in his outfit, from his hiking boots to his leather vest over a work shirt. She hesitated slightly before allowing her gaze to wander to his face, a gasp slipping from her as she looked at the face she knew better than her own. A smile started to appear on her face as she met the deep green eyes of her best friend. She felt that familiar warm feeling spread through her, the same feeling of pure happiness she had always felt around Owen. He was the one to break the silence, eyes crinkling as he smiled at her.

'Hey, Shortie, long time no see,' he said, ignoring the fact that she was almost as tall as him in her heels. He had called her shortie since they were in high school and he had had a sudden growth spurt, putting him at 6 foot 2, a good few inches taller than her. Claire still hadn't managed to find words, she wasn't sure what to say. Instead of speaking, she launched herself at Owen, wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. As always Owen caught her. A laugh made its way out as she buried her face in the crook of his neck, taking in the smell that was purely Owen and the feeling of actually being able to hug him for the first time in eight years. There moment was interrupted by Zara.

'You two know each other?' she asked, slightly confused by her boss's sudden display of affection. Claire blushed as she pulled herself from Owen, realising that she should not have done that. She put her professional smile back in place as she turned to Zara.

'Yeah, you could say that,' she laughed slightly, 'Me an Owen, uh, we grew up together. He's been my best friend for as long as I can remember.' 

'Oh, I guess that explains the hug,' Zara said, curiosity not completely satisfied, but she would dig more later. It was Owen's turn to look confused.

'What do you mean? Hugs need explaining?' 

'If Claire's the one doing the hugging then, yes. She doesn't generally show affection.' Zara evidently thought it was weird that she had to explain something like that to Claire's best friend.

'Are we talking about the same Claire? Claire,  _my Claire,_ not show affection? She's the most affectionate person I know, well, except Gray.' That definitely caught Zara's attention. Not so much the thing about affection but the " _my Claire"_ she knew better than to say anything though. She had also noticed that Claire had shifted slightly away from Owen, looking slightly uncomfortable.

'Zara, can you give us a minute? We need to talk.' Claire said to her assistant.

'Yeah, sure thing. And don't forget, your week off starts at 4.' 

As soon as Zara had left, Claire had turned to Owen. Owen gulped, she looked pissed. 'I am NOT _your Claire!_ ' she whisper yelled.

'Claire, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant, you know, my best friend Claire. The one I see when we video chat.' 

'The Claire you knew disappeared when people started assuming I slept my way up the corporate ladder!' 

'So what, you put on an act every time we talk? That hug was fake?' they were both yelling now, having forgotten that there were other people there. 

'Of course it wasn't. But I'm not the Claire you knew! I've changed! I'm sorry! I wish I was still  _your Claire_ but I'm not! I'm not!' and now she was crying. And Owen hated seeing her cry.

'You haven't changed. You've adapted. You're still the same Claire that I knew, you just don't let everybody see.' he said softly, pulling her into a hug. She didn't struggle but she wasn't about to believe him that easily.

'I haven't just adapted, I'm a completely different person.'

'You are not. It's alright to be cold with people who don't know you, as long as you aren't cold with the people who care.' Claire shook her head but didn't bother arguing, Owen always won anyway. 'Now what's this I hear about time off.'

'Mr. Masrani gave me the week off. I have to stay on the island but I won't be at work. I guess that would be your doing?'

'I may have mentioned something,' he grinned at her.

'I'm gonna guess that's why I haven't been given any of the paperwork for the raptors,' she laughed, 'where are you staying?'

'They said I can stay in the hotel till they get something sorted.'

'Oh no. No way are you staying in the hotel. We've got some serious catching up to do, Grady. You're staying with me.' she said smiling at him. Owen knew better than to argue, not that he really wanted to anyway. He happily followed her out of her office, happier than he had been in years. They were finally in the same place. 


	4. Are You Sure?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Zara thinks there's something going on and Owen and Claire are in denial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So apparently I have ideas for this one. They kinda just appear in my head. Also rating has changed because I am paranoid.

Claire was still asleep when the doorbell rang. Considering she buried her head in her pillow and pulled the blanket tighter around her, Owen figured she wasn't planning on getting up. He pulled himself out of bed, immediately missing the warmth of the blanket, and shuffled to the door. He opened the door to find Zara on the other side. She looked kinda shocked to see him there. He was confused for half a minute before he remembered that he was supposed to be staying at the hotel.

'Mr. Grady, I guess I should have expected to see you here,' she said, smirk on her face. She looked him over and her was suddenly conscious of the fact that he was in his boxers. She didn't say anything but he knew what it looked like. He didn't want to draw attention to it though.

'Um, you should?' he was a bit confused, again. 

'Well, you two certainly didn't waste time, did you?' and that's when his brain decided to start functioning properly. Of course she thought hime and Claire were a couple. It wasn't the first time the assumption had been made, they had been called a couple by pretty much everyone since they were 16. With a sigh, he decided he would have to set her straight.

'It's not like that. Me and Claire are just friends. We had some catching up to do, so Claire invited me to stay with her.' he could tell that Zara didn't believe him. He thought she might let it go, but at that moment, Claire decided to wake up. 

'Owen? Where'd you go?' she called. Not a minute later, she came into the front room, a dressing gown over her shorts and vest top that functioned as her pyjamas. Now there was no way Zara was going to believe him. He mentally face-palmed. Claire had frozen in the entryway. Looking at the two of them, adorably confused. It took about thirty seconds for her to realise why Zara looked incredibly smug. 

'Catching up? Is that all?' Zara asked.

'Oh gods,' Owen had completely forgotten that Claire sometimes said that. She had ever since her obsession with Greek mythology when they were younger. He smiled slightly before he realised that Claire was saying something. 'It's not like that. We were just talking! I swear!' Claire had always been the one that got all defensive, even though it made it seem like she was covering up. 

'Are you sure? You're being kinda defensive, considering nothing happened...' Zara could be very nosy sometimes, 'and, you know, there's only one bed, and there aren't any sheets on the sofa...' Owen could see how, logically, it would seem like something had happened. He barely held in a snort. He wished something like that could happen. But, as they had both said many times, they were  _just friends._ He was kinda tired of saying that. 

'What, two adults can't sleep in the same bed without sleeping together? That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!' Claire said, 'besides, me and Owen used to share a bed all the time. That doesn't mean we're together.' Owen looked at her and barely managed to stop himself from walking over to her. He had seen something in her eyes as she had said that. To someone who wasn't used to reading her, it would've looked like anger, but Owen knew better. It was almost like she was sad, like the fact that there wasn't anything between them upset her. Owen shook it off, that was just wishful thinking. 

'If you say so,' Zara said, though they all knew she didn't believe it, 'anyway, I have some paperwork that you both need to sign. It's just some standard asset handler paperwork -' both Claire and Owen bristled at the word asset. They were living, breathing animals not just numbers on a spreadsheet. '-and you need to go to the lab today. Dr. Wu wants to talk about the imprinting process.' 

'Alright. Leave the paperwork with me, I want to look over it first,' Claire said, holding out a hand. Zara dropped the file into Claire's outstretched hand.

'I guess I'll leave you to it then. Have fun "catching up". I'll see you around.' Zara left and then it was just the two of them. The door had barely closed before Claire collapsed on the sofa.

'Why does nobody ever believe that we aren't together?' she asked, exasperatedly.

'Maybe because we act like a couple?' he answered. 'Maybe because it's so damn obvious I'm in love with you,' he thought to himself. Turns out, he wasn't so good at thinking in his head.

'What?' Claire practically yelled. He had said it aloud. Why did he always think aloud? Well, time to admit it. This was going to be interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... that wasn't exactly how it was supposed to go. It was supposed to be a bit more drawn out, but my brain had other ideas. It might be a couple of days before I post the next chapter as I'm back at school tomorrow. If I'm lucky I'll find the time to write the next chapter tomorrow. I'm hoping I get the chance to write the next one soon, I really would like to know what happens. :)


	5. What the Hell Just Happened?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claire is confused, Owen just hopes he hasn't screwed everything up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my brain would not leave the Clawen world and I needed to know what happens so I figured might as well because I'm not going to get anything else done until this is written

_Previously..._

_'Maybe because we act like a couple?' he answered. 'Maybe because it's so damn obvious I'm in love with you,' he thought to himself. Turns out, he wasn't so good at thinking in his head._

_'What?' Claire practically yelled. He had said it aloud. Why did he always think aloud? Well, time to admit it. This was going to be interesting._

* * *

'What?' Owen asked, deciding to take the safer option and act oblivious.

'What did you just say?' Claire asked, tone calm. That was not good. Calm meant dangerous.

'Maybe because we act like a couple?' more nervousness than he had intended seeped into his voice.

'No, after that?'

'I didn't say anything after that. You must've imagined it.' 

'So you didn't say that you're in love with me?' she asked. There was an odd look on her face.

'Oh, yeah that,' he reach up a hand to run through his hair. Her eyes tracked the movement. 'Yeah, I may have said something a long those lines.' he chuckled nervously and attempted to smile.

'You may have said something a long those lines, or you said those words?'

'Okay, yeah, I said that I'm in love with you, so what?' 

'SO WHAT!?' and the storm broke. He was in trouble.

'I mean everyone else knew. It's not a big deal.' he tried to play it cool even though he was anything but calm, after all, one of them needed to be clear headed.

'What do you mean everyone else knew?! How could everyone else know? And yes it's a big deal!' she screamed at him.

'Well, it's not like I tried to hide it. I just didn't say anything. I did a damn good job of not saying anything! I didn't say a thing for fourteen years!' Oh shit. That was not supposed to come out. He could have just let her think that it was a recent development but his word filter had decided to stop working. Brilliant.

'Fourteen years? How could you have not said anything? Seriously, Owen, I thought we didn't have secrets?' Ok, so she hadn't said anything either but it wasn't like she had known! Besides he always treated her like a sister. How was she supposed to know?

'First off, I don't know how I didn't say anything, I just didn't want to ruin our friendship, we were fine the way we were. Second, no we don't have secrets, this is the only thing I never told you. Third, I never treated you like a sister!' had she said that out loud? Whoops. 'If anything, you treated me like a brother! And as for how you were supposed to know, everyone else figured it out! I always thought that you had figured it out as well and never said anything because you didn't feel the same!'

'You really think that telling me something like this would ruin our friendship? You think our friendship is that - that fragile. That  _anything_ could  _ever_ ruin it! As for this being the only thing you never told me, it's a damn big thing to not tell me, don't you think? And I never thought of you as a brother, frankly that would just be plain damn  _wrong,'_  turns out her filter wasn't working very well either. 'And do you really think that if I had figured it out, I wouldn't have said anything? Honestly Owen I -' no, she would not tell him. That would make things worse. This would pass. It had to pass. Because he  _couldn't,_ he really couldn't,  _be in love with her._  

'What's that supposed to mean?' Owen asked.

'What's what supposed to mean?' Claire asked, not realising that she had thought out loud again. 

'I  _can't_ be in love with you. Evidently, I  _can._ You know, because  _I am in love with you._ ' 

'It means you  _shouldn't_ be.' he could hear the tears in her voice.

'Why?' he said it softly, so softly that she almost didn't hear.

'You deserve more! You deserve  _better._  You don't deserve someone who doesn't have time. You don't deserve a heartless cow! You deserve someone - someone who will put you first.' it killed him that she didn't think she was enough. It physically hurt him. 

'I think I should get to decide that. And, for me, you're the best it gets. You are not a heartless cow. You have the biggest heart in the world.And you do have time. You do put me first! How many times have you told me that you left mountains of paperwork on your desk just so you could talk to me?' there were tears rolling down her face, wether they were from anger or sadness, Owen wasn't sure.

'I already told you, that Claire,  _your Claire,_ disappeared a long time ago. You might not want to believe me, but you can ask anyone and they'll tell you that Claire Dearing is an ice queen, a heartless cow, a corporate machine.' she let out a bitter laugh, 'wait a couple months and you'll say it, too.' He wanted to find the people that had said that about her and punch them in the face. Even if she did fire him for it.

'And I already told you,  _my Claire is still right here._ You say I can ask anyone and they'll agree with you, but you're wrong. If I ask Zach and Gray, they'll tell me that you're their awesome aunt who they miss like crazy, and who they know tries her hardest to come see them and can't and sends them dinosaur presents instead. And they'll tell me that they have every single present you have ever sent them. And that they look forward to seeing you on video chat whenever they can and they really, really wish that you could come for Christmas, but they know you tried and that's what counts. And I would never,  _never,_ say anything like that. Because it doesn't matter what everyone else thinks. You are still the same Claire Dearing that held my hand when my dad died and who called me the second she got her acceptance letter and was so excited she forgot to say hi. You are still my Claire, and nothing will ever change that! Those people don't know you,  _the real you._ It doesn't matter that they don't see the warm, loving, amazing person who cares about the dinosaurs just because Gray's face lights up every time you mention one and who pays for Zach's Netflix and Hulu and the T.V. package in his room because his parents refused but he needed something to block out the fighting. It doesn't matter if they don't know the Claire that wakes up at 3 a.m because Zach and Gray are calling because their parents got in a fight again and they are scared and they need their Aunt Claire. It doesn't matter if they don't know that Claire. What matters is that I know that Claire and that Zach and Gray and Karen know that Claire. Because that's the Claire that matters! The one your family knows.' he looked at her and he realised that she was full on crying now. 'Shit, Claire, I didn't mean to make you cry! Don't cry, I hate it when you cry! Just forget I said anyth-' he was cut off by Claire's arms wrapping around him. He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair and taking in the smell of her shampoo. 

'Idiot,' she said, pulling away slightly, 'I was crying because that was sweet, not because I was upset.' 

'Does that mean you aren't mad at me.'

'No, I'm not mad at you. But you might need to give me some time to process everything.'

'You mean to process what I said earlier?' 

'Yeah. I definitely don't see you as my brother, Owen, but I don't really know how I feel.' that was a lie. Of course it was a lie. She was completely, hopelessly in love with him. But she wasn't ready to tell him yet.

'Ok. So, I can stay at the hotel if you want.'

'Why the Hades would you do that?' and there was the Greek mythology again. He smiled a little.

'I don't want to make things awkward, you know?'

'Things aren't going to be awkward, as long as you don't bring this up again until I tell you I'm ready. You're not staying at the hotel. I told you we've got eight years of catching up to do and I've only got this week of. And you'll be called to stuff about the raptors all the time. We need all the time we can get.' she smiled up at him. 

'Alright, I guess I'm staying.' 

'I guess we should probably be heading to the lab then?'

'Huh?'

'We need to go to the lab so you can discuss the whole imprinting thing with Dr. Wu.'

'Oh right, yeah let's go.' he pulled his arms from around her and headed for the door.

'Owen, don't you want to get changed first. I mean it's a lovely sight but I'm not sure I want everyone to stare at you. If you don't want to get changed, we can just go like this, I don't have a problem,' she said, smirk on her face. He let out something a bit like a growl.

'Oh hell no. You are not going out like that!' she raised an eyebrow. 'You'll have guys all over you.' 

'Protective much?' 

'So? It's not like you aren't protective.' 

'What? I am not!'

'Really, 'cause you just said that you wouldn't mind me going out like this but you don't want everyone to stare at me.' it was his turn to smirk. She flushed and turned to her bedroom to get changed. He just stood in the sitting room, smile on his face. Looks like somethings never change. 

 


	6. Raptor Eggs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Owen and Claire visit the lab and Owen is too adorable and Claire realising that she needs to tell him that she is in love with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was trying to read but I got a sudden image of Owen cooing at raptor eggs and Claire looking at him like he was the only thing that matters with like this soft smile on her face and them just being generally adorable so I guess that means a third chapter today.

Owen and Claire had made it to the lab without any trouble. Wu had been surprised to see that Claire had come to see the raptor eggs as well, but he asked no questions and made no comments. He lead them to a nest towards the back of the lab, away from the viewing windows. Claire barely listened as he talked Owen through the imprinting process. She occasionally caught phrases such as 'you'll be alpha,' and 'you must be here when they hatch,' but she wasn't paying much attention. Mainly, she was watching Owen. He was listening intently to what he was being told. She wasn't sure why, exactly, but she found her hand reaching for his. Maybe it was that he just looked really cute when he concentrated or maybe it was that it had actually registered in her brain that he was here and he went going to leave, whatever it was, she was glad she did it. A small smile appeared on Owen's face and he laced their fingers together. Other than that, he didn't show any sign that anything had happened. 

When he was told he could pick up the eggs, his face lit up. Claire had to hold in a laugh at how excited he was. She was a little disappointed that he had to let go of her hand to pick up the eggs, but the look on his face as he held the egg was more than enough to make up for it. She watched as he held the egg. He was so careful, and he looked at the egg with such a soft expression. She could almost imagine that Owen was holding a newborn baby instead of a dinosaur egg. And for a minute she did imagine. As she watched him handle the dinosaur egg with such care, she imagined him holding a baby with his sandy brown hair and green eyes. It wasn't hard to picture it, she had seen him hold Zach and Gray when they were just born. He had held them carefully at spoke to them with a soft voice, just like he was now with the raptor egg. Maybe, someday, it would happen. First she actually had to tell him that she was in love with him. 

As he looked at her, she almost said it. There was something about seeing him so happy and so... father-like that made her want to tell him. She didn't say anything, she didn't trust herself not to talk, instead she just smiled at him and he smiled at her. 

* * *

They spent about an hour in the lab, Owen talking to the raptor eggs as he handled each of them in turn, Claire watching and falling more in love with him. He was a bit sad that he had to leave the eggs but Claire promised burgers and he cheered right up. When they got to the restaurant, Owen ordered for them both, getting Claire's order completely right without straining his memory.

'You remembered,' she said, slightly shocked that he would remember something like that.

'Of course I remembered, I remember everything.'

'Like?'

'Like you hope that when you have kids they don't inherit your red hair but they get your eyes because you love blue eyes especially since Gray was born. You love the snow and you wish it wasn't so damn hot on the island. You want an autumn wedding because you love how colourful it is despite all the jokes about the leaves matching your hair. You slept with your teddy until you were 14 and it still sat on your bed when we were in uni. You spend days debating over what presents to get for people and how to wrap them because you really care and you really want people to like what you give them. You absolutely love disney movies, but you aren't too fond of any of the princesses because you think that a lot of them are a bit stupid. You watched Doctor Who with me almost every day and you used to pretend to hate it but you really do love it and you were more excited than I was when they announced they were bringing it back. I remember we watched it together over Skype. And, of course, you like your burgers cooked medium-well with cheddar cheese, red onions, lettuce and tomatoes but no sauce because, who puts sauce with cheese?' 

'I - I...' for once Claire was completely speechless. Owen smirked at her.

'Nothing to say?'

'Just one thing.'

'Oh?'

'I like green eyes more than blue eyes,' she wasn't looking at him but he could still see the small smile on her face.

'Since when?' 

'Since I was sixteen.'

'Really?'

'Yep.'

'Why?'

'Because...' 

'Because what?' she opened her mouth to reply but they were interrupted by the arrival of their food. The conversation was forgotten as they ate and laughed and remembered all of the burger places they had been to as kids.

They had left the restaurant and were walking back to Claire's house when Owen brought it up again.

'You didn't tell me why.' he said, confusing her.

'Why what?'

'Why you like green eyes better than blue eyes.' Claire didn't say anything for a few minutes. He figured he should probably leave the subject when they reached her house. As she was unlocking the door he decided he should probably say something.'You know what, forget I said anything it does-'  

'Owen, I like green eyes better because your eyes are green.' she said smiling at him as she opened the door and led the way in.

'What?' that was not what he had been expecting.

'I like green eyes beca-'

'No, I heard you. I just wasn't expecting that.' he interrupted.

'Oh.'

'Why?'

'What?'

'Why does it matter that my eyes are green?'

'Because whenever I imagine my future you're a really big part of it.' she was trying to say it in a roundabout way but Owen was not picking up on it.

'Ok. But that doesn't really explain things.'

'You can be a right idiot sometimes.'

'Thanks. But can you explain.'

'When I said you're always a big part of my imagined future I meant that you were, you know...'

'What?'

'God, Owen, I meant that I'm in love with you!' she had a smile on her face as she watched him for his reaction. Her smile faded when he didn't say anything. 'Owen? Are you alright?' When he didn't answer she started to say something else but she didn't get the chance to get the words out before Owen kissed her. She froze for a moment in complete shock before she realised what was happening and happily sank into the kiss. She let out a small half laugh as her back hit the wall, causing Owen to pull away.

'What's so funny?' he asked, pout on his face.

'Nothing. I just thought for a minute there that you didn't want to hear that.'

'What? Of course I wanted to hear that!'

'Yeah, I know, but you didn't say anything so I thought...' Owen chuckled gently and kissed her again. He pulled away a lot more quickly than she would have liked.

'Why now?' he asked

'Huh?'

'Why did you decide now the right time to tell me?'

'Seeing you hold the raptor egg so gently, almost like a newborn, made me realise how much I want you in my life, made me imagine you holding a little baby with your hair and green eyes, but maybe my smile.'

'You have no idea how many times I've imagined that, except the baby always has your eyes, and sometimes your hair.' 

'Oh Gods NO! Red hair is no good. Seriously.' Owen laughed an leaned towards her again. Just before his lips met hers, he whispered, 'as long as the baby is ours I don't care if it has my hair or yours.' but he left no room for discussion and Claire soon forgot what they had been discussing anyway.


	7. Late Night Phone Calls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claire receives a call late at night

It was 3 a.m when Claire's phone started ringing. Both Owen and Claire were fast asleep. Claire probably would have been woken up by the sound of her phone if it weren't for the fact that she was both extremely warm and extremely comfortable wrapped in Owen's arms. So she slept on. Owen, on the other hand, had always been an extremely light sleeper and was awake as soon as the phone started ringing. 

'Claire, phone,' he groaned, not making a move to answer it. Claire let out a muffle sound that he couldn't really decipher. 'Do you want me to answer?' he asked her. She didn't say anything but he felt her nod against his chest. He reached out a hand and picked up her phone, sliding his finger across the screen to answer. 'Hello,' he said, voice croaky.

'Uncle Owen?' came the astonished voice of his older nephew (who was not actually related to him. He was Claire's older sister's son but both him and his younger brother had called Owen their uncle their entire lives. So he called them his nephews.) 

'Zach?' Owen asked, suddenly wide awake, 'It's 3 in the morning.'

'Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, I was just looking for Aunt Claire. I'll call back later.' 

'No, it's fine. Just let me go get your aunt. Hold on.' Owen put his hand over the phone and gently shook Claire. 'Claire,' he whispered, 'Claire, wake up! Zach's on the phone.' As soon as she heard 'Zach' Claire was up. She gestured to Owen to give her the phone as she sat up, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

'Zach? Is everything alright?' she asked, worry written clearly on her face. She put the phone on speaker so that Owen could hear, too.

'Aunt Claire, God, I don't know! Mum and dad are arguing again and it's really loud and Gray is shaking, I mean  _literally shaking,_ and I don't know what to do and it's just really, really bad.' it was pretty obvious that Zach was panicking. Owen was fairly certain that he would have been a lot less calm had he been in the teenagers place. With a surge of pride, Owen realised that Zach was keeping it together so that Gray wouldn't panic more than he already was. 

'Zach, take a deep breath,' Claire instructed. They heard the slow intake of breath on the other end of the line. 'Ok, now why don't you put a movie on and maybe go get Gray some water. I'll stay on the phone.' before Zach could reply, they heard a muffled crash.

'Aunt Claire, I'm scared,' the boy whispered. Claire figured that meant the crash had come from where Karen and Scott were fighting. 

'It'll be ok. Just put something calm on the t.v. Is there anything new on Netflix?' Claire said, although she was clearly pretty anxious herself. 

'Ok. Yeah, there's a few new movies and I think I may have seen Pokemon the other day.' Claire smiled. Zach wasn't particularly fond of Pokemon, but Gray loved it. She was proud that he was thinking of his brother first. 

'Ok. Do you have any water in your room?' she asked

'No, I don't, I could go get some, but I think mum and dad are in the kitchen and I don't really want to go there while they're arguing.'

'Ok, that's fine. Why don't you tell me about school? Or about that new game you were telling me about the other day?' everyone knew that Claire was trying to distract him, Zach included, but it seemed to work as he launched into an explanation about the game that was a bit too complicated for him to keep up with. He had started to sound normal again when they heard another, louder crash. Zach's voice cut off. 

'Zach, are you two ok?' Claire said, worry evident in her voice.

'Yeah, I'm fine, Gray, not so much,' came his shaky reply. Gray was a lot more sensitive than Zach was, everyone knew that. 

'Zach, put me on speaker,' Claire said, wanting to talk to her younger nephew but also wanting to know that Zach was ok. They heard a rustling noise that they assumed meant that Zach had set the phone down. 

'Ok, you're on speaker,' Zach said.

'Gray,' Claire said, voice soft, 'honey, everything's going to be ok.' Gray didn't seem capable of answering, all they heard was a sniff. Claire looked hopelessly to Owen, not sure what to do. This had never happened before; no matter how bad it was, she always managed to get both of the boys to talk. Owen decided to try to get the nine year old to talk.

'Gray? What's wrong, buddy?' he asked, trying to keep his tone soft.

'Uncle Owen?' the boy asked, sniffling slightly.

'Yep,' Owen said, popping the p.

'What are you doing there?' Gray's attention had entirely shifted from his parents' argument to why his uncle was speaking from his aunts phone.

'Well, I got a job at the park.'

'Seriously? What are you going to be doing?' 

'I'm going to be training the velociraptors.'

'That is SO cool!' Gray exclaimed.

'It is pretty cool. Tell you what, why don't you and Zach watch Pokemon and me and your aunt will call your mum to see if you can come to the park over Christmas break? That would be fun, right?'

'Yeah! That would be awesome! Zach! Did you hear what Uncle Owen just said? We might be able to go see dinosaurs, real actual dinosaurs!' they heard a chuckle that probably came from the older Mitchell brother.

'Yeah, I heard. But he also said that you and me need to watch Pokemon so that they can call mum. So we are going to watch Pokemon, ok?' they heard Zach say. They didn't hear anything more from Gray, so they assumed he had agreed. This was further confirmed by Zach saying, 'Ok, good, I'll just let Uncle Owen and Aunt Claire know everything's good and then I'll join you.' Thirty seconds later they heard the click that meant they had been taken off speaker phone before Zach spoke again. 'So, thanks. I really wasn't sure what to do. If it was just me I would've been ok, but with Gray...' 

'There's no need to thank us. It's what family does.' Owen said firmly. 

'Yeah, ok,' there was a pause, 'Hey, Uncle Owen?'

'Yes?'

'Why  _did_ you answer Aunt Claire's phone?' Claire almost groaned, she could practically hear the smirk in Zach's voice. To Owen's surprise, Claire answered before he could.

'Oh, they haven't managed to sort out proper accommodation for your uncle yet, so he's staying with me.' 

'Ok, but that doesn't explain why he answered your  _mobile._ '

'Well, I left my mobile in the sitting room so it I didn't hear it going. Seeing as it was right next to your uncle he answered.' Claire said, hoping that he would believe her. 

'Ok, if you say so. Night Aunt Claire, Night Uncle Owen.' it was pretty evident that Zach had not believed her lie

'Night Zach.' they said before cutting the call. Owen turned to Claire as soon as the call ended.

'We aren't going to hear the end of this are we?' he asked.

'No, and you can bet that Karen will know about this before we speak to her later today.'

'Brilliant. Soooo, how much do you think she's going to tease us?'

'A whole lot, and she'll probably throw in a few "I knew it"'s for good measure.'

'Ok. So basically, we're not inviting Karen to come down with the boys?'

'Definitely not.'

'Good. Can we go back to sleep now?' Claire didn't say anything in reply, she just lay down and snuggled into him. It didn't take very long for them to fall back into dreamland.


	8. Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The start of the plans for Zach and Gray to come to Jurassic World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys I'm so sorry, I have had this written for almost a week, but I've had tests at school so I haven't been able to update. Sorry I accidentally uploaded the unfinished chapter on Saturday. This is the full chapter.

Karen wasn't surprised when she saw Claire's name on the screen of her phone. Her fight with Scott the night before had been particularly bad and she knew that the boys called their aunt when things got bad. She would've been surprised if she  _hadn't_ received a call from her younger sister. With a sigh, she answered the phone.

'Hi, Claire,' she said, trying and failing to keep her voice light. Oh well, it wouldn't come as a shock to Claire that she wasn't actually cheerful. It did, however come as a shock to Karen when Claire's reply of 'Hi, Karen' was followed by a very cheerful, very familiar able voice calling, 'Hey Karen!' this was immediately followed by Claire shushing him and the dull sound of paper hitting the back of someone's head. It took about a minute for Claire's voice to come through the phone again.

'Sorry, Karen, I specifically told him not to say anything, but he never listens!' Claire said letting out a resigned sigh. She sounded annoyed, but Karen could hear the laughter in her voice.

'And who would he be, exactly?' Karen queried, even though she knew exactly who was with her sister.

' _He_ would be my idiot best friend who goes by Owen. I think you may have met him once or twice.' There was an offended scoff. Karen laughed, but decided to play along.

'Owen, hmmm, rings a bell. Was he the dork you had to do that science project with when you were sixteen?' she heard an affronted scoff and a laugh.

'Me? A dork? I am offended!' Owen exclaimed dramatically, causing Claire to laugh even more.

'You _are_ a dork, Owen!' Claire managed to say between giggles.

'Yeah, well, so are you!' he retorted. Karen had to hold back from saying 'What are you, five?'

'Yep, I am, nothing wrong with that,' Claire said, finally calming down.

'If you two are done,' Karen said, thoroughly amused by their childish behaviour.

'Right, sorry.' Claire said. This was followed by Owen saying 'I'm not!' and Claire shushing him, again. 'Maybe we should start this conversation over. Hi, Karen.'

'Hello, Claire,' Karen said, fully expecting the next thing she heard.

'What about me?' Owen called.

'Hello, Owen.'

'Hi Karen.'

'What are you doing at Jurassic World?' she asked Owen, genuinely curious as to why he was with Claire.

'Oh, I got a job here as a handler in a research project,' Owen told her.

'Really? Which dinosaurs are you going to be working with?' she hoped it wasn't anything extremely dangerous. Of course, her hopes were dashed with his next sentence.

'I'm going to be training velociraptors, trying to get to know a bit about their behaviours.'

'Seriously? You would be training the most dangerous known dinosaurs!' she exclaimed. That was typical Owen.

'Yep! You know me, can't resist danger!'

'Well, at least I know Claire will stop you from causing too much trouble,' she sighed, 'Is Claire still there or what?' she asked.

'Yep. I'm here. I figured I'd just let you two finish.'

'Right. So I'm assuming this isn't just a call to tell me Owen's working with you?'

'Why?'

'You would've called when the boys were at home if that was it.'

'Okay, you're right,' Claire admitted.

'So, what is it?

'Well,' Karen could hear the reluctance, she knew Claire didn't really want to discuss this particular topic, 'Karen, the boys called last night.' She didn't know if Claire had expected this to shock her, but it didn't.

'I figured as much.'

'Things sounded pretty bad.' Owen said.

'You were there?'

' Yeah, I'm staying with Claire until they sort out proper accommodation. And don't try to change the subject.'

'Okay, fine. Yes it was bad. What did you hear?'

'We heard a plate smashing, twice.' Claire's voice was soft, like somehow that would make things a bit better.

'Ah. So you heard the worst of it. Were the boys scared?'

'Yeah they were pretty scared. Zach said Gray was shaking. He wouldn't say anything until Owen started talking to him.'  

'Well, if Owen said anything about training raptors, I'm sure Gray would've been excited.' They all knew it was a weak attempt at diffusing the tension. It didn't work.

'Karen, don't you think this has gone on too long?'

'Of course I do, Owen, but it's not like we can talk about divorce with the boys in the next room.'

'So send them here for a week or two. They'll have fun, I'll actually get to see them and you and Scott can sort this out.' Claire said in her you-just-can't-refuse voice. It took Karen a moment to reply.

'Alright, but they don't have another holiday until Christmas. Would you be able to get tickets? It's only two months...'

'Of course! Let us worry about that,' Claire said.

'Ok.'

'Ok. I will call you tonight to sort out the details.'

'Ok. Talk to you then.'

'Alright.' They both hung up.

Claire fell backwards onto the bed with a sigh. She shifted slightly before facing Owen. 'Looks like we've got kids for Christmas,' she said, smile slowly spreading across her face.

'It would seem so,' Owen replied, throwing himself down next to her. She automatically cuddled into his side. 'Are we going to tell them?' Owen asked.

'Well, we're going to have to, but not yet.' Owen looked at her, slightly upset that she didn't want to tell anyone. Of course, with her Owen-reading ability, Claire knew what he was thinking and immediately reassured him. 'I do want to tell them, but I want to enjoy being just us for now. We'll tell them when we see them.' 

'Ok. So... how about we go get some food?' Owen said, his stomach grumbling loudly. Claire laughed and pulled herself off the bed.

'I guess I'm going to have to feed you. Come on, let's go see if I have anything edible.' Owen's stomach grumbled again and he jumped out of bed, chasing after Claire who was already halfway downstairs. As he chased after her, he couldn't help but think she was right; they may be having their nephews for Christmas, but for now they could enjoy being together, just the two of them.


	9. Raptor hatchings and other things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The raptors hatch and the plans for the boys to come to the park are finalised

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so sorry. I meant to have this up ages ago but I just haven't been able to type it.

It was 8 a.m. when Owen got the phone call. Claire had gone back to work that day, so it was just Owen in the house. He had woken up when Claire's alarm had gone off that morning and had spent about half an hour trying to convince her not to go. It didn't work, but he figured it was worth a try. He had just managed to pull himself out of bed and was about to take a shower when his phone rang. He went over to the nightstand where his phone was charging, and laughed when he saw Claire's picture on the screen. He answered the phone, but before he got a word out, Claire was talking.

'Get your butt to the lab now! The raptors are hatching.' That was all she said before hanging up. Owen dropped the phone to the bed and pulled on a shirt and jeans. He raced down the stairs and pulled on the first pair of his shoes that he could find. He grabbed his keys from the hook by the door, extremely thankful he had asked Masrani to get his bike sent over, and raced out the door. He had his keys in the ignition almost before he was fully on the bike. 

Not even five minutes later, he was in the lab. He walked over to the raptor nest and was glad to see Claire was already there. He walked over to her and wrapped his arm around her dropping a kiss to the side of her head.

'I didn't think you would be here.' 

'What, and miss the raptors hatching? Gray would kill me.'

'So that's the only reason you're here.'

'Do I have any other reason to be here?' Claire asked, cheekily.

'It has nothing to do with the fact that you know how important this is for me?' Owen asked, knowing that she was in fact there because it meant a great deal to him.

'It might do, but, I'm also here because I promised Gray I would tell him what it's like to see a dinosaur hatching and I would take a picture of the raptors for him.' 

'Either way, you're here and I'm glad.' Owen told her. Before either of them could say anything else, they heard the unmistakable sound of an egg shell cracking. Both of their heads turned to the raptor nest. The eggs were beginning to hatch. Dr. Wu came towards them as one of the raptors began to poke a claw through the shell. 

'Claire, I understand that you want to be here when the raptors hatch and I'm not going to make you leave, but it is crucial that Owen is the first person they see, so, please, would you step away from the nest?' Claire moved away from the nest just as the first of the raptors poked its head out of the shell. Its yellow eye fell on Owen and it let out a sort of happy chittering noise. Owen helped the raptor out of its shell and held it in his hand. 

'Hey there, little Blue.' Owen said to the newly hatched dinosaur. Claire was slightly confused for a moment until Owen turned to show her the new raptor. The raptor had a very clear blue stripe running down the length of its body. Not for the first time, Claire wished she was a handler. It wasn't like she didn't enjoy her job, she did, it was just that she wished she could interact with the animals like this. As if Owen had read her mind, he asked, 'Do you wanna hold her?' Like a kid on Christmas morning, Claire turned to Wu.

'Can I? Please?' Wu, who had never seen Claire so excited, laughed.

'Now that she's seen Owen you can hold her. I imagine Owen is going to have to help the others out of their eggs in a minute anyway.' Claire held her hands out to Owen. He carefully put Blue in her hands and she brought the small dinosaur close to her. 

'Hey there,' she whispered, 'you are absolutely adorable, did you know that?' she asked. She hadn't thought that Blue would be able to understand, but the raptor tilted her head and blinked, as if to say of course I did. That just made Claire's heart melt. She looked up when she heard a laugh.

'Of course you would find one of the deadliest animals on the planet adorable.' Owen told her. She stuck her tongue out at him instead of replying. He laughed again before his attention was drawn back to the eggs as they heard more cracks.

* * *

 

About four hours later, all four of the eggs had hatched and each had had their fair share of time with both Owen and Claire. As promised, Claire had taken pictures of the raptors(and with them) and sent them to Gray. He had messaged her back immediately, asking if he would be able to see them when him and Zach came to visit. Claire had told him they would discuss it when she called in the evening. This had been followed by a text from Zach to say that he wanted to see the raptors as well. 

'Seriously, these boys!' Claire exclaimed. She was on the back of Owen's bike, they were going to get lunch before she had to go back to the office. I know you're probably thinking that it's kinda dangerous to use your phone when on a motorbike, but Claire had spent enough time riding on Owen's bike that she knew how to hold on and make sure she didn't fall off with one hand and use her phone with the other. It was a skill she had perfected when they were back in university. Owen would often randomly decide that they should go for a ride and he would show up at her door and not give her the time to tell anyone she was going out. So, she would text her roommates from the back of the bike.

'Why? Are they both texting you?' Owen asked

'They are both asking if they can see the raptors when they come down.' That was a bit of a shock for Owen.

'I understand Gray asking, but Zach?'

'His exact words were "Come on, Aunt Claire, it sounds cool. I wanna see just how awesome they really are. Gray hasn't stopped talking about them since we spoke to you last."'

'So he wants to see them to see if Gray is right.'

'Yep.' 

'Typical.' Owen said as he stopped the bike. 'Come on, we're here.' 

* * *

 

They ate lunch and Owen dropped Claire back to the control room. 

'Do you have to go back to work?' Owen asked as Claire got off the bike. 

'Owen, it's one 'o' clock. I get out at four today. That's three hours.' 

'You get out at four?' Claire would usually get out at five or later but she had managed to pull a few strings and get out early so that she could make sure that she would be able to call Karen tonight. 

'Yes, I get out at four. It's only for today, I need to make sure that I can call Karen and the boys tonight and if I hadn't said I'm leaving early, they would have found something I need to stay for.' 

'Okay, I'll see you later, then.' Owen said, going to start the bike.

'Aren't you forgetting something?' Claire asked.

'What?' Owen would've have probably kissed her, but Claire had strictly told him that at work, there was no relation between them. 

'You should know.' Claire told him. She said it innocently, but there was a mischievous glint in her eyes. It suddenly clicked. Owen swung himself of the bike and moved towards her. As he came to stand in front of her, she brought her arms up to wrap around his neck. His hands went to her waist. 

'I thought you said no PDA.' Owen told her.

'There isn't anyone around.' Claire told him. 

'True.' 

'So, are we just going to stand here? Or are you going to kiss me?' Claire asked. To be honest, she was a little shocked by her boldness. It paid off, though as Owen leaned down and kissed her. It only lasted a couple of seconds, and Claire groaned slightly when he pulled away. Owen chuckled and moved back over to his bike.

'I'll see you at home.' He said, turning the key in the ignition. She didn't say anything, just waved to him as he drove off before she went inside.

As soon as she got to her office, Zara was there.

'You're looking very happy, Claire.' Zara said, smirking slightly.

'So. Am I not allowed to smile?'

'You are. But it isn't a common sight.' Claire didn't respond. 'Considering you just got back from seeing the raptors hatch, I can't help but wonder if that smile doesn't have something to do with a certain dinosaur handler. Initials O.G. not bad looking...' Claire laughed.

'It might do. Unfortunately for you, what happens between me and a certain raptor trainer stays between me and that raptor trainer.' Claire told her, walking into her office and shutting the door. Zara stood outside the door, quite stunned, for a moment before going to her desk.

* * *

Three hours later, Claire finally made her way home. As she opened the door, she was greeted by the smell of roast chicken. She smiled as she toed of her shoes and headed for the stairs. She got changed quickly and went back down to find Owen in the dining room, setting the table. 

'Something smells good.' she said, smiling at him.

'Hmmm. I made roast.' he said as he came over to her. He kissed her quickly before heading back into the kitchen.

'Do you want any help?' Claire called.

'Nope. I'm good. Sit down and I will bring the food over in a minute.' Claire sat down in one of the chairs and Owen brought the food out. They ate dinner, talked and laughed. 

Once they were done with their food, Claire got up.

'We should probably call Karen.' she said, heading to the sitting room. Owen followed her and sat on the sofa, pulling her down next to him once she had grabbed the phone. She dialled her sister's number and put the phone on speaker. They waited for a minute as it rang. 

'Aunt Claire!' came Zach's cheerful voice when the phone was answered.

'Hey, Zach. How's life?' Claire said.

'Meh. Kinda boring. Can't wait till Christmas.' 

'Me either. Speaking of, is your mum there? I need to talk to her about tickets.'

'Awww. You don't want to talk to me.' Zach said, faking upset.

'Of course I want to talk to you. But I also want to see you and Gray this Christmas and if I don't talk to your mum, you can't come see me.'

'Okay, fine, I'll go get mum. Talk to you later, Aunt Claire.' there was a muffled sound that was probably the phone being set down and a minute later, Karen's voice came through the phone.

'Hi, Claire.' 

'Hey, Karen.' Claire said, immediately followed by Owen calling 'Hi, Karen!'

'Hello Owen.' Karen said laughing. 'So, I'm assuming you're calling about tickets?' 

'Yep. So...' they continued to talk about the plan for Christmas and after about an hour, they had it set.

'Okay, so we shall be seeing the boys on the 20th.' Claire said.

'Yep. Make sure they be careful.'

'Of course.'

'Okay. I'll talk to you later.'

'Okay. Bye.' Claire hung up the phone with a sigh. 

'So...' 

'So...'

'Excited?' Owen asked.

'Very. But right now, I just want to sleep.' Owen laughed and got up from the sofa.

'Come on then.' he said, holding out a hand. Claire accepted it and he helped her up. Once she was on her feet, Owen picked her up and began to carry her towards the stairs. Claire laughed but didn't complain as he brought them towards their room. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we see a bit of the domestic side of Clawen in this one. I think it's kinda cute and just the way they would be.


End file.
